UN Declares famine in Somalia

20/07/2011

CANADA’S LEADING RELIEF AGENCIES RENEW CALL FOR URGENT DONATIONS TO PREVENT MASSIVE LOSS OF LIFE

Ottawa, ON – The United Nations today declared a famine in parts of Somalia, the highest food security alert level, as the humanitarian crisis worsens in drought-ravaged communities across East Africa. Canadian aid agencies, under the banner of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION, are calling on all Canadians to make urgently needed donations to support relief operations and help avert a catastrophe on the scale of the 1984 famine in East Africa that killed over a million people.

The UN uses a five-point scale to describe food insecurity. Last week the region was listed as stage four: emergency. Today’s declaration elevates the crisis in Somalia to stage five: catastrophic/famine. This qualification means that up to one out of every three people is acutely malnourished and most people will experience a death in their family due to the crisis.

Insufficient funding so far has hampered the ability of aid organizations’ like the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION to sufficiently scale up their efforts and prevent the crisis that is now unfolding in East Africa. Across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, more than 10 million people—most of them children—are in dire need of food, clean water and basic sanitation. Whole communities have collapsed, livelihoods have been irreversibly damaged and children and adults are severely acutely malnourished.

HUMANITARIAN COALITION members—CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec, Plan Canada and Save the Children Canada—warn that immediate action is required to prevent loss of life on a massive scale. All HUMANITARIAN COALITION members have a long history and experience in East Africa and are responding across the region with life saving assistance.  Canadians are urged to support the relief efforts by making a donation immediately online or by mail or phone at the details below.

About the HUMANITARIAN COALITION
With a combined presence in over 120 countries, the joint efforts by the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION provide a widespread and effective response to emergencies. The group has one phone number and a joint website for online donations in order to make donating easy for Canadians. 

To donate to THE HUMANITARIAN COALITION, call us toll-free at 1-800-464-9154, log onto our website at http://www.together.ca or send donations to THE HUMANITARIAN COALITION, P.O. Box 7023, Ottawa, ON, K1L 5A0.

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